Publications

March 2011 (Revised April 2018)
Case

1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Ramana Nanda, David Kiron and Evan Richardson

For some time, 1366's co-founders, Frank van Mierlo and Ely Sachs, had faced a choice, which was now made all the more stark: 1366 could expand to produce silicon wafers itself, raising the required capital from "friendly" investors and building shipment volume slowly,... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Innovation Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Intellectual Property; Management Teams; Renewable Energy; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Finance; Energy Industry; Technology Industry; United States

April 2010
Case

Bill Nichol Negotiates with Walmart: Hard Bargains over Soft Goods (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

CEO Bill Nichol must somehow negotiate a surprise ultimatum from Walmart, his largest customer, about his largest and most profitable product line: “We're dropping it.” Among its hosiery products, the Kentucky Derby Hosiery Co. produces and sells a branded line of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Crisis Management; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry; North America

14 Jun 2016
First Look

June 14, 2016

forthcoming Harvard Business Review Press Managing in the Gray: Five Timeless Questions for Resolving Your Toughest Problems at Work By: Badaracco, Joseph L. Abstract—Part of a manager's job is making tough calls, and the hardest... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

The Power of Ordinary Practices

workers who are carrying out the work of the organization. In my research we look at how entrepreneurs and executives can think about the day-by-day management of those people in the trenches, since they determine, to a large extent,... View Details

Keywords: Re: Teresa M. Amabile

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

improves self-reported fertilizer management practices, though not enough to measurably affect yields. Satellite measurements calibrated using OLS produce more precise point estimates than farmer-reported... View Details

2023
Working Paper

Cost-Efficient Decarbonization of Portland Cement Production

By: Gunther Glenk, Anton Kelnhofer, Rebecca Meier and Stefan Reichelstein

Accounting for nearly 8% of global annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the cement industry is considered difficult to decarbonize. While a sizeable number of abatement levers for Portland cement production is becoming technologically ready for deployment, many are... View Details

SSRN

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05 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Understanding the Process of Innovation

Michael Collins is looking to diversify. His company, Big Idea Group, currently produces only children's toys, but he thinks his process for discovering, refining, and bringing ideas to market can work in other niches. As the Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gray

28 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Forget Cash. Here Are Better Ways to Motivate Employees

variety of rewards and measure which ones appeal to employees and motivate them the most. Praising employees can be a stumbling block for leaders who mistakenly believe being harsh produces stronger results or who worry they will appear... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

26 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 26, 2018

results of this multi-method investigation have implications for both managers and academics interested in how consumers learn to become expert in hedonic product categories. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2013
Chapter

The Most Successful CEOs Come from Within

By: Joseph L. Bower

The financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession caused a crisis of public confidence in business and American-style capitalism, with its focus on maximizing shareholder value. Corporate leaders understood that reform was needed and that they needed to commit... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Business and Community Relations; Management Teams

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

perk that allowed Amazon to capture market share and eventually blow past Sony, which after years of struggling, closed its e-reader store in 2014. “Without creating a competitive advantage, it is difficult for companies to produce and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2002 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Tax-Motivated Film Financing at Rexford Studios

By: Mihir A. Desai, Gabriel J. Loeb and Mark Veblen

The head of production for Rexford Studios must analyze the terms and value consequences of an international financing involving a German film fund. The financing involves a sale-leaseback structure where international tax rules give rise to a sizable economic pie that... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Financing and Loans; Taxation; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Competition; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Germany

16 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Can Decades of Military Overspending be Fixed?

States has often turned to cutting-edge technology solutions to solve strategic and operational challenges. “Costs tend to rise in all organizations unless managers and their staffs are skilled in industrial View Details

Keywords: by J. Ronald Fox; Service

December 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Boortmalt: The Master Maltster

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin, Lena Duchene and Emer Moloney

By May 2023, Boortmalt was the world’s leading producer of malt, with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes, 15% of global market share, and 27 malting plants across five continents. It had recently acquired a major competitor and had sustained an EBITDA growth of... View Details

November 2006 (Revised June 2010)
Case

SUN Brewing (B)

In July 2004, Shiv, Nand, and Uday Khemka are discussing their holdings in SUN Interbrew, a leading Russian beer producer that is part of the family's global portfolio of businesses. SUN Interbrew has been operating as a joint venture since 1998, when the Khemka... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Ownership Stake; Family Ownership; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

30 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

People use crowdsourcing to solve problems, raise money, and share AI breakthroughs, the authors write. Open source software—such as the popular content management system WordPress or the operating system Linux—gives users free access to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

2025
Chapter

Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones

This chapter explores when and why private regulatory governance systems became the primary form of global environmental governance. The chapter explores two different historical paths in such private regulation and how they came about. The first path involved... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Entrepreneurship; Environment; Climate Change; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Environmental Regulation; Standards; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

BizRate.com

By: Youngme E. Moon

BizRate is a market research firm that collects point-of-purchase customer feedback data from retailing merchants. It then makes its findings available to consumers in the form of "BizRate star ratings," which are displayed on its website. To date, its primary revenue... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Marketing Channels; Internet and the Web; Customer Relationship Management; Trust; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Divisions; Debates; Retail Industry